Breathe
by Visili romani
Summary: There is a shooting, and Charlie gets a bit overwhelmed, luckily Larry is there to help. Not Larry/Charlie. DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters or numb3rs. Warning: this fic describes a panic attack in detail as well as a shooting.


Charlie could feel his heart pounding in his chest as Don threw him to the ground. He crawled frantically through the room, hiding behind the cover of the desk as two more shots rang out. All he could here was panic and frenzy, yells and shouts drowning into shots, bangs, and shattering glass. He grabbed his laptop and dropped back to the floor, overwhelmed surroundings. There was a man, it was the shooter, he had an agent held hostage. Another shot whizzed by about 3 feet away and Charlie threw his head back down with a strangled cry. Everything felt loud and invasive on his senses, the normally welcoming light pooling in from the various windows was harsh and blinding, the floor hard and cold. His vision had been altered slightly, he could see dust and shards of glass flying through the air, yet everything seemed to be fuzzy around the edges. He could feel the rush of fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins, and yet he could do nothing. He was useless. He brought his kn ed es up to his chest and held them tightly as he glanced around the corner. 2 more shots were fired before he saw the armed man get taken down. He blinked as a wave of relief flooded him, slowly extending his legs and leaning his weight fully against the desk as his head fell back against it. He started to shake slightly as the gravity of the situation fell on him, so he processed that it was over while more noises asaulted him. He could hear an ambulance as well as police sirens, he could hear more yells and shouts, he could hear reassurances that yes they were alive, yes they were okay travelling from agent to agent, taking stock of injuries. He could hear it all and though it was over, he could still feel his heart racing, he was still breathing heavily as he slowly stood up and mentally prepared himself for the stress of the next hour or so before he would be able to escape the pounding in his head. After assuring Don he was alright and giving a statement he was finally allowed to leave the station. He breathed in and out slowly as he rested his head against the steering wheel of his car, his resolve having been chipped away bit by bit over the last hour. All he wanted to do was to collapse into bed, to rest, but he couldn't. Charlie rarely felt useless and he didn't like it one bit. Determined, Charlie started the car and drove to CalSi. "Charlie, Charlie, Charles Eppes!" Charlie jumped, throwing his head up and swinging around with all the speed of a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Larry stood there with a strange look on his face, his eyes were calculating and full of concern for the younger man. "Charlie? What's wrong?", he questioned, walking further into the room. "You were off in another demension!", it took Charlie a minute to register the words, his head still felt like it was underwater. "Yeah, I'm great, sorry, I was just working on something for Don." Larry stepped closer and glanced at the model of the precinct. "I'm intrigued, what is it?". "There was a shooting there this morning, I'm trying to find a pattern." Charlie said, looking back down to avoid his friend's worried gaze. Charlie flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Larry beside him. "Charlie are you ok? You were there this morning!". Charlie shook his head to rid himself of the onslaught of memories, despite this he still trembled slightly. "I'm ok Larry, I just really need to focus on finding the pattern." Charlie said turning back to his work to hide his teary eyes. Larry studied Charlie for a while then stepped back, "Charlie I'm going to go pick us up some lunch, I should be back in about 20 minutes." Larry lingered a second in the doorway then left. Charlie slumped in his seat, relieved for the solitude so he closed his eyes once more, trying to get his mind to quiet enough to focus on the issue at hand. He had to solve this, he may not have been able to help during the shooting but he will be dammed if he doesn't help now. He tried to slow his breathing but he couldn't. Charlie suddenly heard the door bang open as anita walked inside. He panicked. His last bit of strength left him as he was submerged in hazy memories of gunfire and shattered glass. He couldn't breathe, he was hyperventilating. His vision tunneled and grew out of focus as he dropped to his knees hiding under his desk and shaking violently. He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a voice but couldn't make out what it said. He felt himself be pulled into something warm, and heard a deeper voice amidst the shots, "breathe Charlie" it said. He liked the voice, it was quite, the other voice was loud. Everything is so loud. It hurts. "shh, it's okay Charlie," the voice told him. "Try to breathe for me Charlie." He stumbled on his breaths trying to steady them, he felt as if a pile of bricks was being shoved into his chest. He took another gulp of air in as he struggled to breathe. "Shh Charlie, its alright, your alright. You are at CalSi. It is 2:13 in the afternoon you are wearing a gray sweater. You are sitting on the ground with me. You are okay now Charlie, breathe." "Larry?", Charlie rapped. "Yes Charlie, I'm here. Take deep breaths now, in and out, in and out."Charlie relaxed against Larry, resting his head against him as he slowly regulates his breaths. "Charlie are you with me?" Larry asked, looking into his eyes. "Mm." Charlie mumbled against his chest. Charlie was still trembling so Larry held him tighter. "You are alright now Charlie, just rest." Charlie felt his eyes droop of their own accord as for the second time that day he felt encompassed by strong relief. Once Charlie was asleep Larry lifted them off the floor, carrying Charlie to the couch in the corner, lyping the man's head in his lap and laying heavily against the back of the couch. "Its okay Charlie." He repeated again as he ran his fingers through Charlie's hair 


End file.
